C-E-C Star Kuhlman Bound for Bulldogs

By
KBJR News 1

December 13, 2012Updated Dec 13, 2012 at 9:54 PM CDT

Cloquet, MN (NNCNOW.com) --- When the top line of Karson Kuhlman and brothers Westin and Beau Michaud hits the ice for the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton (C-E-C) boys' hockey team, everyone in the rink takes notice.

"I love sitting back and just watching them play, and they also raise the level in our practices and our games," C-E-C head coach Dave Esse said. "I think everyone on the other team has to be aware of them at all times because they can make things happen very quickly."

Karson Kuhlman is a key part of that top line for the Lumberjacks. He still has two years of high school hockey remaining, this season and next.

After that, though, he will remain here in the Northland as he has committed to play his college hockey at the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD).

"It was very nice to get it off my back a little bit," Kuhlman said, "and now I can just focus on playing this season in Cloquet. It should be a fun one."

"He's a kid that just gives 100 percent," Esse said of his junior forward. "He's dedicated to hockey, and the little things he does right make a big difference in the game. He works up and down the rink, offensively and defensively. Every shift, he just gives it his all."

"He's very quick," linemate and C-E-C junior forward Westin Michaud said. "He's smart. He sees the ice. He can score goals. He can pass and make plays. He's just got a lot of talent."

Certainly UMD wasn't the only Division I school courting Kuhlman, but he said a couple things made it a fairly easy decision in the end.

"I loved it there," Kuhlman said. "Everything from the coaching to the facility, and obviously it's local. I've wanted to play there since I was a little kid, so it was a perfect fit."

A perfect fit, much like that top scoring line this season for the Lumberjacks.

"The fact of the matter is that they've had great chemistry since they were kids," Esse said. "They know where each other are. They're good friends off the ice as well as on, and they're just a treat to coach."